The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". The Newbery and the Caldecott Medal are considered the two most prestigious awards for children's literature in the United States. Books selected are widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are interviewed on television, and master's theses and doctoral dissertations are written on them. Named for John Newbery, an 18th-century English publisher of juvenile books, the winner of the Newbery is selected at the ALA's Midwinter Conference by a fifteen-person committee. The Newbery was proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1921, making it the first children's book award in the world. The physical bronze medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan and is given to the winning author at the next ALA annual conference. Since its founding there have been several changes to the composition of the selection committee, while the physical medal remains the same.
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are considered the most prestigious American children's book awards. Besides the Caldecott Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to runners-up they deem worthy, called the Caldecott Honor or Caldecott Honor Books.
John Newbery, considered "The Father of Children's Literature", was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He also supported and published the works of Christopher Smart, Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Johnson. In recognition of his achievements the Newbery Medal was named after him in 1922.
Jerry Spinelli is an American writer of children's novels that feature adolescence and early adulthood. His novels include Maniac Magee, Stargirl, and Wringer.
Jean Carolyn Craighead George was an American writer of more than one hundred books for children and young adults, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves and Newbery runner-up My Side of the Mountain. Common themes in George's works are the environment and the natural world. Beside children's fiction, she wrote at least two guides to cooking with wild foods and one autobiography published 30 years before her death, Journey Inward.
Jean Guttery Fritz was an American children's writer best known for American biography and history. She won the Children's Legacy Literature Award for her career contribution to American children's literature in 1986. She turned 100 in November 2015 and died in May 2017 at the age of 101.
Audubon is a non-fiction book written by Constance Rourke (1885-1941). It retroactively received the Newbery Honor award for the year 1937.
A Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame Roland is a biography written for children by Jeanette Eaton. It recounts the life story of Marie-Jeanne Roland de la Platière, an influential figure in the French Revolution. Born in relative obscurity, she became a prominent Girondist and was executed in one of Robespierre's purges. The biography was first published in 1929 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1930.
The Railroad to Freedom: A Story of the Civil War is a children's book by Hildegarde Swift. It is a fictionalized biography of Araminta Ross telling of her life in slavery and her work on the Underground Railroad. The book, illustrated by James Daugherty, was first published in 1932 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1933.
Leader by Destiny: George Washington, Man and Patriot is a biography of George Washington written for children by Jeanette Eaton. Illustrated by Jack Manley Rosé, it was first published in 1938 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1939.
Penn is a biography of William Penn written for children by Elizabeth Janet Gray. Illustrated by George Gillett Whitney, it was published in 1938 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1939.
George Washington's World is a children's history book by Genevieve Foster. The first edition, illustrated by the author, was published in 1941 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1942.
Have You Seen Tom Thumb? is a biography of General Tom Thumb written for children by Mabel Leigh Hunt. It tells the story of Charles Sherwood Stratton, a charming and humorous dwarf who traveled all over the world with the showman P. T. Barnum. The book, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg, was first published in 1942 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1943.
Abraham Lincoln's World is a children's history book by Genevieve Foster. Illustrated by the author, it was first published in 1944 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1945.
Lone Journey: The Life of Roger Williams is a biography of Roger Williams, champion of religious freedom and founder of Providence Plantation, written for children by Jeanette Eaton. First published in 1944, it was illustrated with full-page woodcuts by Woodi Ishmael. The book was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1945.
The Moved-Outers is a 1945 children's novel written by Florence Crannell Means and illustrated by Helen Blair. The book received a Newbery Honor and the Bank Street Children's Book Award in 1946.
Jeanette Eaton was an American writer of children's books, primarily biography and history. Four times she was one of the runners-up for the annual Newbery Medal. She was a suffragist and feminist.
Carver: A Life in Poems is a 1997 collection of poems written by the American poet Marilyn Nelson about George Washington Carver.
One Came Home is a children's historical novel set in Wisconsin during 1871. It was written by Amy Timberlake and published by Knopf in 2013. One Came Home is a winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery and a Newbery Honor award in 2014. This book was published by Random House Children's Books on January 7, 2014. Along with the Edgar Award and a Newbery Honor, One Came Home, was named best book of the year by the Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Bookpage, Bank Street, and National Public Radio. It was also a part of the Scholastic Book Club selection.
Veera Hiranandani is an American writer of children's books. Her 2018 novel, The Night Diary, received a Newbery Honor in 2019. Her novel How to Find What You're Not Looking For won the 2022 Jane Addams Children's Book Award.
